The subject application is directed generally to customizable controls for devices and is particularly applicable to on-demand generation of controls for a series of tasks to be performed by document processing devices.
Document processing devices in common use today include copiers, scanners, facsimile machines, and printers. It is increasingly common to have one device perform two or more document processing functions. These devices, referred to as multifunction peripherals or MFPs, are commonly found in both commercial and private use.
As document processing devices become more powerful, more functions and options are made available to users. Devices such as printers include options for selection of media such as various paper sizes or types, as well as finishing options such as collation, hole-punching, stapling, binding, and the like. In devices such as MFPs, a user may select to have one or more documents copied, scanned, archived, and transmitted by electronic mail in a single sequence of operations.
Many users will frequently engage in one or more operations that are used repetitively. For example, an accounting department may receive paper invoices. A set procedure may require every received invoice to be copied, scanned to an optical character recognition format, and transmitted by facsimile to headquarters.
It may be desirable to program repetitive tasks so that complete instructions do not have to be entered each time. Many users, however, are not sufficiently sophisticated to engage in such programming. Further, many tasks are only used for a relatively short period of time, such that more permanent programming of repetitive steps is not warranted.